


Strangers

by dreamthievespart17



Series: RinHaru Week 2020 [3]
Category: Free!
Genre: Ballroom Dancing, Boys Kissing, Imagery, Kissing, M/M, Making Out, Masquerade Ball, RinHaru Week 2020, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:00:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28488711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamthievespart17/pseuds/dreamthievespart17
Summary: Rin meets a fascinating stranger at a ball and quickly gets to know him more intimately.
Relationships: Matsuoka Rin/Nanase Haruka
Series: RinHaru Week 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2074719
Kudos: 17
Collections: Rin & Haru Week





	Strangers

**Author's Note:**

> Day 3 of RinHaru Week
> 
> The theme is celebration and I chose the blue prompt, winter Christmas and went with the Masquerade and music AUs.

Rin’s jaw nearly dropped when he walked into the foyer of the room. 

The ballroom before him was absolutely breath-taking. 

The whole castle had been decorated for the winter holiday, but the scattered pine-scented wreaths and red-berry garnishes were nothing compared to the extravagant scene that lay before him. 

Twinkling candles lined the walls and lit the chandelier that hung proudly from the ceiling, tiny rainbow flecks of light reflected onto the scene below, jewelry and gems glimmering alike under the attention. Silver wires wound around twinkling bells that intertwined branches and holly alike, decorating the many tables laden with sweets. 

And the costumes – every guest had specifically been ordered to commission a mask for the occasion, as well as to wear an outfit worthy of being seen by the royal family, who’d be anonymously making their way through the crowd. 

The beauty of it all was that each guest’s identity was a mystery, masks hiding their faces so that only eyes and mouths were visible, names and faces remaining unknown. (At least until the night ended.)

Slipping through the crowd, Rin was at a loss of what to do with himself. Dressed in a midnight black shirt woven with silver thread and pronounced sleeves, he normally would have felt self-conscious in such a dramatic outfit, but with his silver mask shielding his face, it almost felt like armor. 

His eyes skimmed the scene and he noted that the music was just about to start, a string quartet and their conductor beginning the show, baton readying and bows hovering tentatively over strings. 

And just as the song began, Rin saw him. Who he was, Rin couldn’t be asked, had no idea if he’d ever spoken to the man before in his life, but he wanted to. 

He wore dark pants with a silver belt, pale cerulean shirt and a royal blue shirt that perfectly matched the ocean-blue hue of his eyes, upper half of his face shielded by a crimson mask. 

Before he knew what he was doing, Rin had crossed the room and stood before him, mouth half open, ready to give an introduction, but frozen in place. 

“Hello,” said the man with a soft smile. 

“H-hello,” Rin replied shakily. “Would you like to dance?”

At the man’s slow nod, Rin offered him his hand and lead him out to the dance floor. 

The stranger’s fingers were thin and soft and Rin couldn’t help but wonder who he was to have such soft palms. He definitely was one of the elites, and his outfit did not disagree. 

Keeping the fingers of his one hand threaded with the stranger’s, Rin placed his hand gently on the other’s waist as he carefully placed his own on Rin’s shoulder. 

They took a breath in sync and began to dance. It was odd – how natural it felt for the two of them to move together, how easily they slid into a comfortable rhythm. It was strange in the most wonderful way. 

Time became meaningless when they danced. 

The feeling of the stranger’s soft fingers intertwined with his and the heat of his skin bleeding through the fabric that Rin gripped on his waist… it was all tantalizingly addictive. He lost himself in the ocean-salt smell of the stranger’s body, one that matched his outfit startlingly well, and most importantly, his eyes. 

His eyes. Deep, deep blue and wide open with wonder, Rin would have gladly stared into them until the end of time, until he forever sunk deeper and drowned in their depths. Rin would have given anything to be able to unlock the mysteries that lay inside them, to be able to dive in and see what lay underneath the surface, to look through them into his mind and heart and see if he felt the same way about Rin, if he was just as enamored, or if it was all a wishful dream… 

Some time later, when the musicians took a break, Rin found himself being pulled along insistently by the ocean-eyed man, dragged away from the dance floor hastily. Rin couldn’t help but follow, wondering where they were going, but at the same time, not particularly caring, as long as they could stay together for another moment in time. 

They came to a stop in a small alcove just off of the side from what looked like a mainly unused hallway. 

As soon as he had dragged Rin through the shallow doorway and into the small, partially enclosed area, Rin was being shoved up against a wall and fiercely kissed. Hard lips pressed against his own and Rin gladly opened his mouth to let the man slip his tongue in, gliding it all around Rin’s mouth and teasing him playfully. Rin moaned and desperately gripped the man’s shirt, pulling him in even closer before tangling his hands in his hair as the stranger’s lips found his neck, sucking on the sensitive skin roughly and likely leaving marks there for later. 

They kissed each other hungrily, each pulling the other closer, closer, even closer, though it still was never enough. 

Slowly, subtlety, they started to calm down a bit, kissed each other a little less roughly, with a little more care, but no less passion. Slow, languid kisses that left Rin breathless and dying for more. The stranger smoothed his hands up and down the fabric covering Rin’s torso, but made no move to remove it, acting as though they had all the time in the world. It was startlingly enamoring. 

When they both finally broke apart to come up for breath, Rin stared at the stranger, eyes trailing from the now-wrinkled fabric of his tunic to his kiss-swollen mouth and finally, to his eyes, still fascinating as ever. 

Somehow, their masks had managed to stay on during their frantic fumbling, but Rin longed to take them off. It seemed the stranger read his mind, a soft smile caressing his red lips. Carefully, he smoothed his hands down Rin’s front from where they had been resting on his shoulders, before lifting them off and bringing them to his own face, and the edges of his mask. Rin held his breath, unable to keep his eyes off of the man and he watched as agonizingly slow, the stranger peeled the crimson fabric from his face, making eye contact the whole time. 

He dropped the mask on the floor and stayed silent, nor did he move an inch. Instead, he allowed Rin’s hand to come up and he smiled softly as Rin traced the tip of his finger around where the mask had been, then caressed the planes of his faces, running it over his brows, cheeks, nose and lips. His eyelashes fluttered as Rin’s finger came to rest on his Cupid’s bow and he kissed the fingertip softly and Rin sighed quietly and he quirked him a smile once more. 

Rin then allowed him to peel his mask off and Rin smiled as he thumbed over his cheekbone and all of the sharp angles of his face before leaning in and kissing him once more. 

“Haru.” The stranger whispered. “My name is Haru.”

“Haru,” Rin murmured, feeling out the sound of it. “Haru,” he repeated quietly. “I am Rin.”

“Rin.” Haru murmured. “It’s lovely to meet you.”

They kissed again and Rin allowed his heart to dive in, Haru silently promising to do the same. 

They were strangers no more.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed!!
> 
> Leave a kudos or a comment if you feel so inclined. 
> 
> Catch me on tumblr @somniabundant


End file.
